Saul nOvaamaleki
1 Opo nee Samuel ta ti kuSaul: “Omwene okwa tuma nge ndi ku vaeke u ninge ohamba yoshiwana shaye shOvaisraeli. Pwilikina hano paife eendjovo dOmwene. 2 Omwene womatanga ovakwaita ta ti ngaha: Ame nda dimbulukwa osho Ovaamaleki ve shi ningila Ovaisraeli, vo eshi ve ve lidengifa mondjila, Ovaisraeli eshi va dja kuEgipiti. 3 Inda hano paife u ka taatae Ovaamaleki ndele mu nokuhanauna po ashishe ve shi kwete. Ndele ino va fila onghenda, ndelenee u nokudipaa omulumenhu nomukainhu, okaana nokahanana, ongobe nodi, ongamelo nondongi.” 4 Opo nee Saul a ifana ovakwaita nokwe va talatala muTelaim. Ovalumenhu vokolupadi omayovi omafele avali novalumenhu vomuJuda omayovi omulongo. 5 Ndele Saul eshi e uya koshilando shOvaamaleki ndele a tula ehonyeno mefilu, 6 Saul ta ti kOvakeni: “Djeni po, tukaukeni nOvaamaleki, ndihe mu hanaune po pamwe navo; osheshi nye omwa fila onghenda ovana aveshe Ovaisraeli eshi va dja muEgipiti.” Opo nee Ovakeni ve litukauka nOvaamaleki. 7 Ndele Saul okwa taataa Ovaamaleki okudja kuHavila fiyo okombinga yaSur, osho shi li moushilo waEgipiti. 8 Ndele ye okwa kwata Agag, ohamba yOvaamaleki, ndele ovanhu aveshe e va dipaa po keongamukonda. 9 Ndelenee Saul novakwaita va xupifa Agag needi diwelela unene neengobe naado diwa kanini noudjona naashishe eshi shiwa, inava hala oku shi hanauna po. Ndelenee oinima aishe yongaho noihe na vali oshilonga shasha, ove i hanauna po. 10 Nondjovo yOmwene ye uya kuSamuel ndee ta ti: 11 “Ame nda nyika oluhodi, eshi nda ninga Saul ohamba, osheshi okwe liteeka nge ndele ina wanifa eendjovo dange.” Opo nee Samuel a ninga omwenyo mwii nokwa kuwa kOmwene oufiku aushe. 12 Ndelenee ongula inene Samuel okwa pyakuduka a ka shakene naSaul. Ndele Samuel a shiivifilwa nokutya Saul okwe uya kuKarmel nokwe lidikila ko edimbulukifomanya. Ndele ye okwa dja ko nokwa enda po, ta i kuGilgal. 13 Samuel eshi e uya kuSaul, Saul ta ti kuye: “Ove u nangekwe noupuna kOmwene. Ame nda wanifa ondjovo yOmwene.” 14 Opo nee Samuel ta pula: “Ndelenee ekweno eli leedi tali uya momatwi ange olashike, neulo leengobe eli ndi udite olashike?” 15 Ndele Saul ta ti: “Vo ove di kufa kOvaamaleki, osheshi ovakwaita va xupifa eedi neengobe diwelela ve di yambele Omwene Kalunga koye. Ndelenee dikwao twe di hanauna po.” 16 Opo nee Samuel ta ti kuSaul: “Mwena, opo ndi ku shiivifile odo Omwene e di lombwela nge oufiku wonena.” Ndele ye okwe mu nyamukula: “Popya!” 17 Ndele Samuel ta ti: “Oove omutwe womapata Ovaisraeli, nande ove oumuxupi momesho oye mwene. Omwene e ku vaeka u ninge ohamba yOvaisraeli. 18 Nomwene okwe ku tuma mondjila ndee ta ti: ‘Inda u ka hanaune po ovalunde Ovaamaleki u va lwife fiyo va pwa po.’ 19 Omolwashike hano ino dulika kondaka yOmwene; ndelenee wa hakana oixuulwa, ndele mwa ninga eshi inashi yuka momesho Omwene?” 20 Opo nee Saul ta ti kuSamuel: “Ame nda dulika kondaka yOmwene ndele nda ya mondjila omo Omwene a tumine nge, ndele nda eta Agag, ohamba yOvaamaleki. Ndele nda hanauna po Ovaamaleki. 21 Ndelenee ovakwaita va kufa moixuulwa eedi neengobe, odo diwa domeexuulwa, ve di yambele Omwene Kalunga koye muGilgal.” 22 Opo nee Samuel ta ti: “Omwene a hokwa ngeno omaxwikiloyambo nomatomenoyambo ngaashi a hokwa eduliko, okudulika kondaka yOmwene? Tala, okudulika ku dule etomenoyambo nokuuda ko ku dule omakaadi eedi deemhedi. 23 Osheshi okuhadulika okwo etimba ngaashi enyanekelo, nokwaanya oko owii nokufimaneka oikalunga. Ove eshi wa ekelashi ondjovo yOmwene, naye e ku ekelashi yo, uha kale vali ohamba.”
24 Opo nee Saul ta ti kuSamuel: “Ame nda nyona, eshi nda tauluka elombwelo lOmwene neendjovo daye, osheshi nda li nda tila ovakwaita, ndele nde va itavela. 25 Dimine nge po etimba lange u shune pamwe naame ndi shiive okulinyongamena Omwene.” 26 Ndelenee Samuel ta ti kuSaul: “Ame itandi ka shuna naave, shaashi wa ekelashi ondjovo yOmwene ndele paife Omwene e ku ekelashi, ito kala vali ohamba yOvaisraeli.” 27 Samuel eshi a piluka a ye, Saul okwa kwata komunghulo woshikutu shaye shokombada, ndelenee sho osha pombauka. 28 Ndele Samuel ta ti kuye: “Onena eli Omwene okwe ku pombola mo mouhamba woye wOvaisraeli nokwe u pa mukweni ou e ku dule ouwa. 29 Nefimano lOvaisraeli, ita fufya ndele ite lialuluka. Osheshi ke fi omunhu Ye e lialuluke ngeno” 30 Ndele ye ta ti: “Ame nda nyona. Fimanekife nge nena moipafi yovakulunhu vovanhu vange Ovaisraeli, ove u shune pamwe naame, ndi shiive okulinyongamena Omwene Kalunga koye.” 31 Opo nee Samuel okwa shuna nokwa shikula Saul. Ndele Saul okwe linyongamena Omwene. 32 Opo nee Samuel ta ti: “Etelei nge Agag, ohamba yOvaamaleki.” Fimbo Agag e uya nehafo koshipala shaye, Agag ta ti: “Oshili oululu wefyo wa kanduka po.” 33 Ndelenee Samuel okwa tya: “Ngaashi eongamukonda loye la nyeka ovalikadi ovana, osho yo nyoko ta ka kala ehe novana mokati kovakainhu.” Opo nee Samuel a tetaula Agag oinhimbu moipafi yOmwene muGilgal.
34 Opo nee Samuel a ya kuRama, ndele Saul okwa ya keumbo kuGibea. 35 Ndele Samuel ina mona vali Saul fiyo efiku lefyo laye, osheshi Samuel a nyika oluhodi omolwaSaul. NOmwene okwe livela ombedi molwaSaul, eshi e mu ninga ohamba yOvaisraeli.
War against the Amalekites
1 Samuel said to Saul, “I am the one whom the Lord sent to anoint you king of his people Israel. Now listen to what the Lord Almighty says. 2 He is going to punish the people of Amalek because their ancestors opposed the Israelites when they were coming from Egypt. 3 Go and attack the Amalekites and completely destroy everything they have. Don't leave a thing; kill all the men, women, children, and babies; the cattle, sheep, camels, and donkeys.”
4 Saul called his forces together and inspected them at Telem: there were 200,000 soldiers from Israel and 10,000 from Judah. 5 Then he and his men went to the city of Amalek and waited in ambush in a dry riverbed. 6 He sent a warning to the Kenites, a people whose ancestors had been kind to the Israelites when they came from Egypt: “Go away and leave the Amalekites, so that I won't kill you along with them.” So the Kenites left.
7 Saul defeated the Amalekites, fighting all the way from Havilah to Shur, east of Egypt; 8 he captured King Agag of Amalek alive and killed all the people. 9 But Saul and his men spared Agag's life and did not kill the best sheep and cattle, the best calves and lambs, or anything else that was good; they destroyed only what was useless or worthless.
Saul Is Rejected as King
10 The Lord said to Samuel, 11 “I am sorry that I made Saul king; he has turned away from me and disobeyed my commands.” Samuel was angry, and all night long he pleaded with the Lord. 12 Early the following morning he went off to find Saul. He heard that Saul had gone to the town of Carmel, where he had built a monument to himself, and then had gone on to Gilgal. 13 Samuel went up to Saul, who greeted him, saying, “The Lord bless you, Samuel! I have obeyed the Lord's command.”
14 Samuel asked, “Why, then, do I hear cattle mooing and sheep bleating?”
15 Saul answered, “My men took them from the Amalekites. They kept the best sheep and cattle to offer as a sacrifice to the Lord your God, and the rest we have destroyed completely.”
16 “Stop,” Samuel ordered, “and I will tell you what the Lord said to me last night.”
“Tell me,” Saul said.
17 Samuel answered, “Even though you consider yourself of no importance, you are the leader of the tribes of Israel. The Lord anointed you king of Israel, 18 and he sent you out with orders to destroy those wicked people of Amalek. He told you to fight until you had killed them all. 19 Why, then, did you not obey him? Why did you rush to grab the loot, and so do what displeases the Lord?”
20 “I did obey the Lord,” Saul replied. “I went out as he told me to, brought back King Agag, and killed all the Amalekites. 21 But my men did not kill the best sheep and cattle that they captured; instead, they brought them here to Gilgal to offer as a sacrifice to the Lord your God.”
22 Samuel said, “Which does the Lord prefer: obedience or offerings and sacrifices? It is better to obey him than to sacrifice the best sheep to him. 23 Rebellion against him is as bad as witchcraft, and arrogance is as sinful as idolatry. Because you rejected the Lord's command, he has rejected you as king.”
24 “Yes, I have sinned,” Saul replied. “I disobeyed the Lord's command and your instructions. I was afraid of my men and did what they wanted. 25 But now I beg you, forgive my sin and go back with me, so that I can worship the Lord.”
26 “I will not go back with you,” Samuel answered. “You rejected the Lord's command, and he has rejected you as king of Israel.”
27 Then Samuel turned to leave, but Saul caught hold of his cloak, and it tore. 28 Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel away from you today and given it to someone who is a better man than you. 29 Israel's majestic God does not lie or change his mind. He is not a human being—he does not change his mind.”
30 “I have sinned,” Saul replied. “But at least show me respect in front of the leaders of my people and all of Israel. Go back with me so that I can worship the Lord your God.” 31 So Samuel went back with him, and Saul worshiped the Lord.
32 “Bring King Agag here to me,” Samuel ordered. Agag came to him, trembling with fear, thinking to himself, “What a bitter thing it is to die!” 33 Samuel said, “As your sword has made many mothers childless, so now your mother will become childless.” And he cut Agag to pieces in front of the altar in Gilgal.
34 Then Samuel went to Ramah, and King Saul went home to Gibeah. 35 As long as Samuel lived, he never again saw the king; but he grieved over him. The Lord was sorry that he had made Saul king of Israel.
